


Your Love Was Handmade For Somebody Like Me

by SEHale



Category: SKAM (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/M, Misunderstandings, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 03:56:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11661126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SEHale/pseuds/SEHale
Summary: Based on the prompt: you wrote my name down wrong the first time i came here and i didn’t correct you, but you’re really sweet and now i don’t know how to tell you you’ve been calling me by the wrong name for the past month.AU where precious Yousef gets Sana’s name wrong the first time she walks in for a coffee and precious Sana doesn’t correct him, shenanigans and uncalled for guilt follows.(Also known as: will I ever write something that isn’t a coffee shop AU??)





	Your Love Was Handmade For Somebody Like Me

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for the support and love guys, I'm thinking of writing for another fandom after this, if there's anything anyone out there is interested in reading right now hit me up in the comments, I'm looking for inspiration to write new stuff!

It was pouring outside as Sana walked back home, her entire being completely soaked through. Her bag, her clothes, her shoes, probably even her books, and if that thought wasn’t entirely depressing Sana didn’t know what was. 

Wiping herself off as best she could, she looked up and saw salvation in a coffee shop just ahead, the warm lights and tall canopy above the door surely a sign from someone up there that she deserves to treat herself after the stress of today.

Stopping by the door to dry herself off a little before entering and making a mess, Sana’s phone beeped in her pocket. Flicking the water off her hands onto her sweater beneath her jacket instead, Sana reached and grabbed her phone, checking the messages waiting for her in the group chat.

 _Noora_ : hey Sana, you okay? You left in a hurry after school  
_Vilde_ : yeah I tried to catch up but it started raining, call me if you need anything! <3  
_Eva_ : did you go straight home Sana? Me and Chris can come meet you there if you want company?  
_Noora_ : same!  
_Vilde_ : same <3

Sana felt tears well up in her eyes, and just let them fall, disguised as the rain around her. She goddamn adored her friends, who would drop literally anything for her. She knew Vilde was meeting Magnus today, and that Noora was going to cook with Eskild and Linn tonight, but still they’re ready to find her and make sure she’s okay.

With trembling fingers, she replies:

 _Sana_ : I’m okay, I’m out right now but everything is okay I promise, thank you guys  
_Sana_ : I’ll see you tomorrow, love you <3

Instantly, the screen flooded in with more hearts and reassurances to talk whenever Sana wants to, and the places in Sana’s heart that were cracked and ripped open were filled gently with warmth and love again. 

It wasn’t even a big deal, it just stung hearing what people thought about her behind her back. She hadn’t meant to walk into the classroom so early, she just wanted a place to sit so she could work on some notes for class, but just before she walked into the biology room, she heard a few girls a bench in front of her usual seat talking in hushed tones.

_“She’s such a know it all, I bet she doesn’t actually even get good grades, and it’s all for show, that’s what happens when you’re insecure.”_  
“But doesn’t she want to be a doctors or something? And that’s why she’s so smart?”  
“Please, her, a doctor? Not in this country.” 

Sana felt her stomach drop, her clothes too tight and claustrophobic, the buzzing in her mouth mounting, as if she was a moment away from throwing up. She knew what people thought of her, she just didn’t realize it was so close and so disguised as the girls she sat behind the entire year.

Before Sana could think about what to do, she heard another voice loudly throughout the room.

“If you have something to say, say it. Don’t be a coward and gossip quietly about racist things, say it loudly so we can all hear your bullshit.”

The room fell silent, a pen dropped somewhere and sounded like a bullet flying through the room. Neither girl said a thing, and the man, Isak, Sana realized with a tearful laugh, continued.

“If you’re talking about Sana, just know that she’s the smartest person in this class, and has taken the time out of her life to do something kind and tutored me in biology, she’s that smart. And she’s going to make the most talented and qualified doctor this country would be lucky to have when she’s older, and I’m going to go to her for even a paper cut, trust me – you’re wrong.”

Sana smiled to herself dimly, looking down at her shoes from outside the room, letting the room settle again before stepping in. 

Head up, chin high, and jaw set, Sana walked in confidently, not even sparing a glance to the two sheepish looking girls, and sat next to Isak, briefly saying hi before taking out her books. Isak smiled, said hi, and they got to work.

*

Even though the matter felt resolved, Sana still felt a sharp twinge in her chest when she thought back to that moment, how it felt to be reduced so concisely and succinctly. As if she didn’t really matter, as if her existence wasn’t qualified. 

Sana unlocked her phone and pulled up a conversation, sending simple _“thank you”_.

She received a heart in response instantly.

Isak was a good friend indeed.

*

And so now, standing in the rain and thoroughly miserable, Sana allowed herself determinedly to treat herself, and walked through the coffee shop doors. Instantly, the scent of coffee and baked goods overwhelmed Sana, and she closed her eyes gently, fluttering with the beautiful hum of happy people on a rainy day. She blinked back to reality, and moved towards the counter, reading the board above to find the best hot drink for her mood.

“Hi, I’ll take a chai latte, please,” Sana said, rummaging around her bag for her purse to grab some cash from.

The girl at the front smiled distractedly, grabbing a cup and pen, asking for a name.

“Sana, extra cinnamon please,” the server nods, calling out for Sana’s drink as she collects the money, counts, and hands Sana the change, reassuring it’ll be ready soon, dismissed crisply.

Sana moved over to wait beside the bulletin board, hands hovering over the flyers for an art gallery opening, and another promising new museum exhibitions at the Natural History Museum next month. Head tilted in fascination, Sana’s fingers gently brush one of the flyers, before a voice calls out her drinks order and she flinches, hastily grabbing a flyer and walking back towards the counter.

“For Sara?” The voice calls, and as Sana steps up to correct him, she looks into his eyes and freezes for a split second. 

He’s so pretty, hair falling around his face, framing his sharp cheekbones, an easy grin to his lips as he stares right back at her. His teeth gleam, and his hands are so big, cradling her cup of coffee in front of her.

Snapping out of it, Sana shakes her head briefly and smiles politely back, nodding and taking the cup from him, their fingers meeting for a hot second before she pulls away.

“I hope you like it, Sara,” the man smiles widely, leaning slightly over the counter as Sana walks away, and she nods, laughing to herself and walking backwards before turning on her heel, bolting to the back corner of the shop, her face feeling flushed and her body warmed through before she’s even taken a sip of her drink.

Sana felt a little weird by leaving the man thinking of her as Sara, but it’s not like she’s going to come back and see him again – or he’d remember her anyways, so no harm, no foul.

Sana sipped her coffee.

_Shit, it’s good._

Still, she’s not going to come back again anyways.

She discretely turns to look over her shoulder and sees the man pouring drinks laugh as he manages to spill milk all over himself again. His laughter is free, calming, soft.

_Fuck._

*

She lasts three days.

Pathetically, Sana makes it just over 72 hours before she cracks, and goes back to the coffee shop in the hopes of _definitely not at all_ seeing the cute boy and entirely only going back for the coffee that tasted actually above average from the usual stuff Sana has at home.

She even kind of has an excuse, and is sent with an order and cash from Elias who asked her to bring him back a coffee – _strong, and black, I don’t care just make it so strong Sana seriously_ – for him so he could finish his essay for tomorrow.

And so here she is, standing in line waiting for the two people ahead of her to order so she can grab her coffees, take a sip of its sweet nectar, and make a break for it before anything embarrassing happens. See, she has a game plan, nothing to worry about, it’s all good.

The door to the back swings open, and Sana sees him. Him, with his soft looking dark hair falling around his face perfectly, a bandana keeping it from obscuring his pretty eyes. He has a smile permanently etched on his face, little lines around his eyes and cute teeth peeking through his grin.

But Sana’s absolutely fine, she’s not some pining little girl after the latest obsession in her life. She’s an adult, with above-normal levels of maturity and wisdom for her age, she will be absolutely fine.

“Yousef, take orders for me!” The smiling, charming barista turns and laughs at the curly haired boy’s petulant demands, and he, _Yousef, his name is Yousef_ , takes the customer’s order, politely leaning in to hear the little girl’s request for hot chocolate while her mother digs through her purse for change. Yousef smiles brightly, declaring she can have all the extra whipped cream in the shop, and Sana’s shoulders slump.

Nope, she’s fucked.

*

Sana has maybe fifty seconds to get her shit together before cute-boy Yousef is going to look her in the eyes and expect her to react like a normal human being requesting a beverage from him, so she sucks it up and squares her shoulders, chin up and heart fluttering away.

The mother and daughter move to the pick-up counter, and Sana exhales slowly, grounding herself and her ridiculously fast-beating heart. Stepping forward, she locks her jaw and waits for him to finish with the cash register before ordering.

He looks up, grin in place, and in a brief flash of something – recognition, interest? No, definitely not that – his lips curl slightly higher, his teeth shiny, his everything so appealing Sana’s stomach is in knots and she’s barely even exchanged ten words with the man but here she is, considering him one of the best parts of her day already.

“What can I get for you - ” Sana opens her mouth, rehearsed order ready to fall from her lips, when he finishes “- Sara?”

Wait, what?

Sana’s brow furrows, her mouth agape, opening as if to say something but closing again several times, watching as Yousef turns a delightful shade of pink in his cheeks and ears, as if he couldn’t get anymore perfect, his bashful smile turns shy.

“Sorry, I’m not a creep I swear, I just sometimes remember names and faces! What would you like, another chai latte?” His hands itch and move to grab a pen and a cup before she even agrees, and Sana’s going to correct him, she definitely is, she’ll tell him her actual name and maybe even ask for his and she can salvage this, totally.

“… and a large black coffee, please.”

Well shit. 

Sana apparently enjoys masochism and crippling embarrassment, it seems.

He grins, nodding and ringing her up, rattling off her price and pressing buttons on machines while his friend, the curly haired man from before, sullenly takes over customer orders behind Sana.

Feeling the heat in her cheeks, Sana moves away and walks over to the pick up area, messing around on her phone replying to messages.

Isak: Is the mitochondria the powerhouse of the cell?  
Isak: Like seriously though Sana, is it really important?  
Isak: I need to understand these memes Sanasol please

Laughing to herself, Sana replies, diligently informing Isak of the key properties of a cell, when she hears a voice close by.

“Sara. Sara!” Jolting back into the room, Sana looks up to see Yousef holding out two cups of coffee. “I thought maybe you’d gone deaf,” He says jovially, a glint in his eyes as he grins at her, faltering for only a moment until Sana snaps into action and takes the cups from his hands.

Her fingers brush his, and she can feel the tingle reverberate throughout her body, from her hands to her chest to her feet to her stomach.

“Sorry,” she starts, when her phone rings loudly between them, and she smiles apologetically at him, stacking the cups on top of one another as she grabs her phone and sees Elias calling.

Sana calls out a thank you as she walks away, already telling Elias she has his coffee and is coming back home soon, missing the way Yousef smiles indulgently and sweetly at her retreating form.

“She’s the one you think is cute, right?” Jonas says with a bored tone, walking around him making an order.

Yousef smiles wider. God, he hopes she comes back.

*

Sana does slightly better next time, she lasts a week, that’s something, right?

Nope, still pretty pathetic, she admits to herself, but this time, she has company. She managed to bring Noora and Elias with her after school, upon hearing Elias’s complaints of hunger and Noora pointedly hanging around them, hoping to tag along with the Bakkoush sibling’s stupid afterschool antics no doubt.

(One time, Sana managed to convince Elias to eat every single ice cream from an ice cream truck in under two hours. Victoriously, and in desperate need to go to the emergency room, Elias won. Noora hasn’t missed an opportunity to hang around them since.)

Solving two problems at once, Sana directs the pair to the coffee shop, and it’s only when they reach inside and Sana sees Yousef that she has an irrational freak-out about the stupid mistake she’s made.

Jumping towards the bathroom, Sana briskly telling Elias her order and shoves money into his hands while butterflies follow her and settle within her stomach as she locks the bathroom door behind her.

Taking a few deep breaths, she stares at herself in the reflection, cleaning some of the smudges of her lipstick and fixing her hijab, tucking the folds cleaning around her face before giving up and sighing loudly. As she takes another deep inhale, she walks out of the bathroom in time to see Noora and Elias chatting happily at the pick-up counter. Yousef and the girl from the first day – who mixed up her name – are running orders.

Subtly trying to hide behind them, Sana rejoins the couple and bites her fingernails anxiously, hoping to get the drinks and get out.

“White mocha and soy latte for Elias!” The girl calls out, placing the drink on the counter as Elias reaches for them, turning and pleasantly putting each cup in Sana’s and Noora’s respective hands with a smile.

“What are we waiting for?” Sana asks, inhaling her coffee and ready to flee out the door, until Elias turns around pouting exaggeratingly, head tilted to the side and looking like a down-trodden puppy.

“But my food though sis, have a heart!” Noora laughs beside him, eyes crinkled in delight and mischief, as she turns to Sana and nods her head seriously once she’s sobered up a little.

Smiling weakly, Sana nods and drinks from her cup as they wait a little longer for the food Elias ordered. 

Finally, after minutes – or potentially hours – spent keeping clear of the cute barista’s eyes, Elias’s food is called up, and he grabs it, taking a giant bite as Sana pushes them all out quickly. 

Between Elias’s loud moans of contentment, Noora’s adorable giggles, and Sana’s motioning, it was only natural they gained a little attention, and just as Sana had shepherded the couple out of the shop, the little bell above the door gained Yousef’s attention, and he smiled brightly, calling out to the group, “hey, wait, Sa-” but before he could finish, Sana yelled back that she had to leave, and ran them all out before either of them realized the mess Sana was in.

*

Really, she didn’t mean to be this pitiful, but apparently the boy who worked at the coffee shop was the only person on the planet Sana was willing to make a fool of herself for. 

She waited the weekend until she came back in, thankfully alone, and surprisingly less anxious about being around him and more anxious until she could get to be around him. Confusing, but not an unpleasant shift. No longer did she dread being around him, as she dreaded being away from him.

It was a slightly less blisteringly cold day, but as good a reason as any to sit in the shop, read a book, and enjoy some coffee. And maybe enjoy an eyeful of a very attractive employee.

What, Sana was at least being truthful her shit now.

But as she walked in, Sana realized a very obvious fact and promptly wanted to punch herself in the face for her very idealized and romanticized version of life.

How could Yousef always be working when she comes in? Not possible, so when Sana steps into the warm coffee shop, eyes pealed for the counter, she stumbles when she realizes that only curly haired boy and the girl are there, no charming laughter coming from the back or beaming smile in the shop to be seen.

Stepping to the counter hesitantly, Sana regrouped. She could still enjoy a coffee and her book, without a cute boy to distract her afternoon. Sighing slightly, Sana smiled briefly at the boy and ordered her drink. He scribbled down on the cup her preference and she paid in a daze, walking over and waiting for it.

Just as Sana thought of maybe going to check out the board, she heard the boy call out “Café Mocha for Sara” and what.

She didn’t even tell this boy her name, there was hardly anyone in the shop to warrant a need for him to call her name.

Judging from her stare and the prolonged silence, the boy just shrugged, and said “he doesn’t stop going on about you,” before calmly picking up a rag and cleaning off the spilt milk from the machine.

Sana picks up her drink, sits at a table, and doesn’t move for ten minutes.

By the time she picks up her drink, it’s just a little too cold for Sana’s liking. She barely notices as she finishes the entire drink.

Her book remains unread the entire afternoon.

*

It’s not weird. 

It’s not, don’t make it weird.

People visit their favorite coffee shops all the time, sometimes daily, and Sana isn’t as regular as that, but she’s pushing it.

Most days after class, she’ll stop by, sometimes to grab a drink, other times for a place to study and eat, but most times just to get to see him.

_Yousef._

He told her he thinks pink is a really pretty color on her today, and Sana’s cheeks have been flushed the entire way home.

Sure, this entire past fortnight they’ve been gradually speaking to each other more frequently, less about coffee and work and more about interests and pleasures, but never romantically, or explicitly, or for very long lengths of time. But today was different.

Sana was at a table, for once not studying or eating, but just pleasantly people watching, when Yousef fumbles and drops into the opposite chair and groans, popping his shoulder a few times trying to roll out a kink.

“Mind if I take my break here?” he asks, but he’s already made himself at home, leaning back in the chair more comfortably and stretching his never-ending legs until they lean against Sana’s chair.

Smirking, Sana nods, and feels a little warmth fill her chest at how they’ve become tentative friends. Maybe even actual friends, because Yousef expressed interest in hanging out with Sana outside of the shop a few days ago, mentioning the exhibit at the Natural History Museum, and Sana blushed and nodded into her coffee before Yousef was pulled away for work.

So yeah, friends. One part of Sana delighted in it, from being nothing to something was tantalizing and addictive, but the other part sighed dejectedly. Friends, just friends. But if that’s what she can get, she can live with that. Yousef’s friendship was no consolation prize, but a treasure of itself, so Sana could easily live a life like this.

A silence falls on them, not awkward or stilted or heavy, but just light and fresh and pleasant. Sana’s starting to believe that no part of Yousef isn’t light and happy, that he’s pure sunshine in a man’s body, and she smiles to herself, looking up when he hears Yousef make a noise of lazy consideration.

“You know, you look pretty with pink lips,” Yousef mussed aloud, and after a brief moment straightened his back and jolted up in his seat, hands reaching out and offering apologies Sana could barely keep up with.

“Not that I look at your lips! Or that I purposefully don’t look at your lips! I look a normal amount, it’s just I’m used to seeing you wear dark lipstick, like red or purple, or that one time black. That was really cool. And not that I’m telling you what you should wear either! Just, I don’t remember you wearing pink lipstick before, it really looks nice, that’s all. You have nice skin for it. Not that pink is only for certain skin tones, anyone can wear it! My sister tells me that all the time too, that people can wear whatever makeup they want, and I noticed yours and think it looks nice. You always look nice. Pink just looks extra nice on you.”

Wow.

That was… a lot.

But Sana’s never felt her face flush so quickly, or her heart pound so much, and seeing poor Yousef’s face distraught has Sana reaching over and gently placing her hand on his wrist. Gentle fingertips tracing his veins.

Biting her lip to control the ever-widening smile on her face, Sana reassures the boy. “Yousef, it’s okay, I know what you meant.” And fuck it, Sana can’t help herself, and smiles completely at him, dimples and all.

Yousef freezes for a moment, mouth like a fish opening and closing on nothing, eventually a soft whimper escaping his lungs before he’s shoved in the back and told by his manager to get back to work.

Sana’s hand slips from his back to the table as he stands, and he lets his fingers stretch and reach for hers as he walks back to the counter, walking backwards, eyes trained on hers.

Sana counts the moment in heartbeats, and for five beautiful moments they share privately in the middle of the crowded room.

Fuck, she’s falling.

*

It comes to an abrupt crash landing.

Of course it does, how can anything happen between her and Yousef if all she does is lie to him about who she actually is.

It’s been a month of blissful ignorance to reality, of sharing a bubble with Yousef at work and dreams of him at night, but eventually the truth has to come out.

Sana never expected it to be so ugly, though.

*

It’s not as though Sana was completely unfeeling of the situation, or hadn’t tried to think of ways to resolve the problem, but she was hoping that it would somehow miraculously disappear, and instead it exploded right before her.

Sana made her way to the coffee shop as she normally does, only to find Isak and his boyfriend, Even, already inside. Taken aback, but still happily so, Sana joins them for a moment, before going to order her drink. 

Curly haired boy, Jonas, was at the counter while Yousef was preparing drinks; who spared a moment to pass by and say hi to Sana before finishing the orders.

As Sana decided what she wanted, Jonas did something entirely out of character and made small talk for some unknown, but arguably karma-driven reason. “How do you know Isak, Sara? Small world, eh, you knowing my best buddy here?”

Sana felt ice stab through her heart and she instantly felt hot all over. Isak and Even were sitting so close to the counter, and Jonas talking loudly enough to purposefully gain the boy’s attention, it’s hard to believe they didn’t hear that. Wincing to herself, Sana can see this all play out before her.

Isak instantly pips up, questioning what Jonas said. “Sara? You mean Sana, right?” Even’s brow furrowed, the arm tucked around Isak’s shoulder shifting as he leaned forward and looked at Sana, who was quickly flushing and looking down at the ground, eyes clenched shut.

“No, this is Sara, she’s been in here nearly everyday for a month now, big spender – supports us independent coffee shops, power to you Sara,” but quickly Jonas was shut down as Isak tightly cut him off.

“Her name’s Sana, Jonas, seriously what’s wrong with you? Why would you go around calling her the wrong name, and for an entire month? That’s not right man, you can’t just do that, it’s her name, - have a little respect and learn it.” Isak finishes with a harrumph, but no one is looking at him, three pairs of eyes are on Sana and her own eyes burn with wet tears, threatening to fall because of all the ways, this was the worst. Publically being called out, with no control over the situation, a complete nightmare.

Why did she let this keep going? Why couldn’t she just nip it in the bud the first ever time Yousef’s stupid perfect mouth said the wrong name? Now she’s probably ruined Yousef’s trust in her, made Jonas hate her, and Isak ashamed to be friends with a liar.

Shallowly breathing in, Sana considers what to do next, and looks up to see Yousef’s face, stone cold and shifting into something she’s not seen him do once the entire time she’s known him; closed off. Impersonal. Blank, nothing, like Sana’s invisible, or worse, the speck of a human Yousef once knew, and Sana does the only thing she can think of.

She bolts out the door.

*

She makes it as far as the next block before she hears the telltale sign of someone following her, and she slows down and braces herself for the verbal torment surely coming her way, from Yousef, or Isak, or even Jonas.

She’s surprised when she sees Even’s tall frame come into sight.

Breathing lightly, they both sit on the curb and wait for a moment.

They’re friends, have been for a while now, given Isak and Sana’s fierce and protective friendship over one another. Even’s big heart and loving being immediately pulled Sana’s towards him, she’s a big supporter of the man, and it cuts her up inside over the thought of hearing his disappointment, his rejection of her character, but those toxic thoughts are silenced when Even’s arm locks itself over her shoulders, bringing her in softly to his frame.

“ _Sana,_ ” his voice murmurs, full of tone, and she lets her tears finally fall. They drop harshly against her legs and she roughly wipes them away, but Even only holds onto her tighter. “Hey, you’re okay, it’s all going to be okay,” he repeats over and over again, reassuring Sana until she’s run out of tears.

So sweetly, he pulls back and looks Sana in the eyes, telling her what she desperately wants to hear. “This doesn’t make you a bad person Sana, you aren’t a liar, okay?” Sana looks to her hands, but Even grasps her shoulders and makes her hold eye contact with him again, “Do you understand me Sana? What happened back there shouldn’t have happened, Isak shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that, and I’m sorry, and you don’t deserve that, okay?”

Slowly, Even sticks the sore pieces of Sana’s heart back together, and smiles bright like the sun when Sana nods along to what he says.

“Now, what are we doing next?”

*

They sit for a little while, and eventually Sana texts Isak and tells him where they are, and two minutes later a disheveled and guilty looking Isak arrives, sitting beside Sana on her other side. 

He kicks his feet for only a minute before he cracks and apologizes to her, making her believe he’d never do anything to hurt her or make her feel uncomfortable, to put her on the spot or make fun of her, and Sana cuts him off with a hug, big and wide and mending.

Isak looks over her shoulder through surprised eyes and sees Even smile back. The three stay there, like that, for a while, and watch the sunset.

Sana knows what she has to do.

*

With a pep talk and words of encouragement the next day from Isak and Even,

( _Isak:_ You got this! It’s going to be fine! And even if it doesn’t work out the way you want that’s okay we can drink coffee at my place! Good luck!

 _Even_ : I know Yousef. Trust me, you’ll be okay.

 _Even_ : You better let me know what happens afterwards though

 _Even_ : *us, Isak definitely wants to know too)

Sana walked to the coffee shop, taking in a deep breath and stepping inside one more time.

She noticed Jonas right away, who stood up straight with wide eyes, slapping at something out of view beneath the counter. A moan and hiss come from behind but Jonas stares straight at Sana and increases the hitting, eventually pulling at it and heaving it up.

Oh, it’s Yousef. His hair’s a mess, his apron holding on by a thread, and stubble is growing along his jaw that Sana wants to press her fingertips to. She holds back, but it’s a close thing. She doubts she’d be allowed to anyway.

Inching closer to the counter, Sana catches the moment Yousef sees her, his eyes widening comically, both Jonas and Yousef mirroring one another while the bushy haired guy shoves Yousef in front and whisks away to the backroom, only stopping for a moment, halfway through the door, to turn back to Sana.

“Hey, Sana, it’s good to see you,” Jonas says, his voice kind, his eyes earnest, as if he’s trying to make up for something, trying to make her feel welcome, but all it does is confuse her even more. She’s here to apologize, why is everyone being so nice to her?

Eventually, the door slowly stops swinging, and only Yousef and Sana are left, the shop quiet for this time of day, and Yousef remains rigid, unmoving, his face no longer blank but somehow worse, tentative and sad and bleak. Sana resolves strengthens, determined to fix him back to the smiling, carefree man she cared for.

“You deserve the biggest apology imaginable, but all I can do is offer the most sincere one. Seriously, I never intended to hurt you, or lie to you, and I’m so sorry I did. It was wrong of me to pretend I had a different name this whole time, but trust me I never meant to humiliate or trick you. I was just dumb, and shy, and didn’t know how to save this whole thing before it snowballed out of control. I never imagined you’d become so important to me and I wish I could have done things differently but I didn’t, and I’m sorry.”

A beat of silence. Another.

“Tell Jonas I’m sorry too, Isak shouldn’t have yelled at him like that. He didn’t know.”

And that’s it. She said her piece. It didn’t kill her, or destroy her, it was good. She needed to put it to rest, end it, and leave no casualty besides her tattered heart. But that would heal, and she’d be okay again.

Breathing in sharply, Sana forces a smile and nods, sighing and turning around for the door, when she hears Yousef’s yelp and a delicate crash behind her.

Turning around, Sana sees Yousef vaulted over the counter, taking down a display stand with him. Getting up, he attempts to right the stand before walking over to stand in front of Sana.

“Did you mean it?”

Frowning, Sana tilts her head.

“Of course I mean it, why would I come back and apologize if I didn’t -”

“No, no not the apology, but thank you for that, I appreciate it. And you’re completely forgiven – just, did you mean it when you said I was important to you?”

Sana stands shocked, surprised with where this conversation was suddenly headed, not a heated argument about her lies or deceit or the broken trust between them, but on a slip of the tongue from Sana’s unconscious thoughts.

“Well, yes?”

“How important?”

“What?”

“What do you mean by important?”

“I don’t kno-”

“Like a friend, or like someone who you go to when you need to be listened to-”

“No, like a friend.”

“Oh.”

One heartbeat, two heartbeats. May as well get it out there, no regrets.

“Well, maybe, a little more than a friend strictly speaking…”

_“Oh,”_

“Shut up, you know what I mean.”

“I don’t know, do I know anything about you anymore? You could be a spy for all I know, secretly plotting how to take me out.”

“Yeah, on a date.”

“What?”

“What.”

“You said _date_.”

“No I didn’t. I think I’d know what I said, Yousef.”

“I don’t think so, you said date, I definitely heard date.”

“Fine, maybe I want to date you. Just don’t tell anyone.”

_“Hey Jonas! Guess who has a -”_

“Shut up!”

“Okay,”

A heartbeat. Two grins, widening by the second, until it’s almost painful.

“Do you really forgive me?”

“What? Yes of course, I thought we went through that.”

“Not really, I don’t think. We sort of skipped that whole part,”

“Oh, in that case, I forgive you, Sana, wholeheartedly, for a mistake that was barely your fault, and mostly my desperateness to know you.”

She blushes, he grins, their heartbeats have synched up and are racing together.

“To be completely honest, I was angry for a moment.”

Sana’s smile drops, and the sting on her heart aches for a moment, until Yousef steps closer and presses his fingertips softly to her hand, fingers, palm. A small, tiny caress, but he carries so much within it.

He lowers his voice. “I thought you did it on purpose. That you didn’t care about me, that maybe you were trying to keep a little distance between us, since it was obvious I like you. I was worried, and a little hurt, and a lot confused, but as long as you have a crush on me I’m okay with it.”

“That’s terrible logic!”

“I’ll live with it,”

“No, seriously, you can’t just excuse whatever I do just because I like you.”

“Why not? The only reason I was upset was because I thought you _didn’t_ like me, now I know you do, problem solved.”

“You’re a terrible problem solver.”

“How’s this for a solution,”

He leans in, she falls into him, they both breath in together.

One heartbeat, two heartbeats.

His kiss is gentle, like he’s handling spun glass, his hands are comforting like warm tea on a cool evening in fall, his heart is racing like it’s desperate to reach hers, she feels it beneath her hand on his chest.

She smiles.

He grins.

They stay there, counting moments in each other’s heartbeats, happy to let some things just fall into place.


End file.
